Tom Wilkinson
English actor known for stage and screen roles.
Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson (5 February 1948 – 30 December 2023) was an English actor who received a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, along with nominations for two Academy Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2005.
Quick Facts
- Birth name
- Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson
- Born
- 5 February 1948
- Birthplace
- Leeds, Yorkshire, England
- Died
- 30 December 2023
- Place of death
- London, England
- Education
- University of Kent, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
- Years active
- 1976–2023
- Occupation
- Actor
Facts from the source article.
Early life and education
Wilkinson was born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, to Marjorie and Thomas Wilkinson, a farmer. At age 11, his family moved to Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada, for five years before returning to the UK to run a pub in Cornwall. He earned a degree in English and American literature from the University of Kent at Canterbury, where he became involved with the University of Kent Drama Society. He then trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1973.
Career
Wilkinson made his stage debut at the Nottingham Playhouse. His first film appearance was in the 1976 thriller Smuga cienia, directed by Andrzej Wajda. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and made his West End debut as Horatio in Hamlet (1981), earning a Laurence Olivier Award nomination. He took supporting roles in Parker (1984), Sylvia (1985), and Wetherby (1985), and portrayed Raymond Gould in the ITV mini-series First Among Equals (1986) while simultaneously appearing in Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts on stage. In 1988, he played Dr. Stockmann in An Enemy of the People, receiving another Laurence Olivier Award nomination. He appeared as Grant Richardson in In the Name of the Father (1993) and gained critical acclaim as Seth Pecksniff in the BBC's 1994 adaptation of Martin Chuzzlewit.
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